Initiatives Online

June 2006

National Leadership Conference Focus is on “Reaching New Heights as One”

The leaders of Catholic Health Initiatives, including system and market-based board members, executives and physicians, will gather September 21–24 in Denver, Colo., for the organization’s National Leadership Conference. Registration is open, and leaders who register by June 30 will receive a discounted registration rate.
The Symbolism of the Aspens
The National Leadership Conference is held every two years. The theme of the 2006 conference, “Reaching New Heights as One,” is reflected in the image of a grove of aspen trees. “Any grove of aspens looks as if it is made up of individual trees, but their mystery is that they are connected to a single, robust root system,” said Jerry Broccolo, vice president of spirituality for Catholic Health Initiatives.
“It’s an image that matches Catholic Health Initiatives’ commitment to working together to build the system through our operating model and a spirituality based in our four core values,” he said. “The ‘root’ supports our market-based organizations, joint operating agreements and community health service organizations as they grow in service to their communities.”
Learning Objectives
The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at the Convention Center in downtown Denver. The learning objectives for the conference include:

Celebrating the legacy and accomplishments of the past ten years, renewing the passion and effectiveness of Catholic Health Initiatives’ leaders. The agenda includes are reflective, spiritual observance of Catholic Health Initiatives’ tenth anniversary, led by Kevin Lofton, president and chief executive officer.

Reflecting on practical ideas about how a values-based, person-centered culture can drive operational performance and improve patient safety and clinicalquality outcomes.

Learningto align board, management, physician and community leadership around a sharedvision for the future and accountability for defined expectations.

Featured Speakers
The assembled leaders will hear speakers Rosemary Gibson, senior program
officer with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Margaret Wheatley, president emerita of the Berkana Institute; and author/poet David Whyte. These speakers will provide fresh insights into improving clinical outcomesand leadership performance.
Conference attendees will also be able to participate in their choice of concurrent sessions. “These sessions, which will address a variety of topics, are designed to be relatively small and interactive — to provide an opportunity for participants to share and learn from each other’s stories, data and best practices,” said Broccolo.
In addition, the conference will provide an opportunity to network with peers across Catholic Health Initiatives around a series of topics of specialized interest. These “Knowledge Exchange Forums” will be an additional program feature this year. More information about these emerging knowledge communities will be provided to conference participants during the summer.
Registration Details
Registration for the National Leadership Conference is now open, and the only way to register is online. All executive assistants who work with the members of Catholic Health Initiatives’ National Leadership Team and market-based chief executive officers have received detailed instructions for registering invited participants and making hotel reservations. A discounted “early bird” registration rate of $425 per person is available until June 30, 2006; after June 30, the registration rate will be $475.
For an overview of the conference program, visit Catholic Health Initiatives’ intranet, Inside CHI, or contact Jerry Broccolo at jerrybroccolo@catholichealth.net.

The National Leadership Conference provides time for fellowship, education and recognition.

Keynote SpeakersRosemary Gibson
Gibson is senior program officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In her presentation, “Learning From Our Sacred Story,” she will focus on the sacredness of Catholic Health Initiatives’ work in improving patient safety and clinical quality and in delivering person-centered care. She is the author of Wall of Silence, a book of narratives about patient and clinician experiences of medical error that puts a human face on the Institute of Medicine report, To Err is Human. She is currently researching the role of culture and a focus on the whole person in making the critical difference in clinical quality, patient safety and end-of-life care.
Margaret Wheatley
Wheatley’s address, “Leadership in Turbulent Times is Spiritual,” will explore how Catholic Health Initiatives can build on the past ten years – and face the challenges of tomorrow — by investing in leadership and committing to dialogue in co-creating the future. Wheatley has been a speaker and consultant for more than 25 years, helping organizations maintain identity, purpose and effectiveness while wrestling with turbulence and change. Her most recent book is Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time. “I have always found my attention drawn to many different disciplines: science, history, literature, systems thinking, organizational behavior, social policy, cosmology and theology,” she said. “I value what I’ve learned from each of these fields, because no one discipline can answer the questions that now confront us. We all must draw from many different perspectives to reweave the world.”
David Whyte
Whyte is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development, where he works with many American and international companies. Using poetry and thoughtful commentary, he illustrates how we can foster qualities of courage and engagement: qualities needed if we are to respond to today’s call for increased creativity and adaptability in the workplace. In addition to five volumes of poetry, Whyte is the author of The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America. Through his poetic reflections during the spiritual observance of Catholic Health Initiatives’ tenth anniversary, led by Kevin Lofton, Whyte will facilitate an encounter with the inner mystery and empowering Spirit of the healing ministry.